The New Monastic and the Old Monk

The New Monastic and the Old Monk: "When it comes to charity, Christians are often content to give to the poor, but do not question unjust structures and systems of oppression embedded in society. Yet the Word of God will have us go beyond charity, that is, if we understand charity only in terms of giving. The Bible and the Greek Fathers understand charity to extend to social justice as well. As our reading from Isaiah for the first Monday in Lent (Is. 1:1-20) clearly demonstrates, our Lord calls us to do social justice: 'seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. (verse 17).' In this passage from Isaiah, the Lord criticizes the worship of Israel, because their worship is meaningless if they do practice justice. In the same way, it is not enough for us to attend Divine Liturgy and to abstain from meat and dairy during lent, if we neglect love of neighbor and tolerate social injustice."